don't respect weakness. >> reporter: his defenders point out that chuck hagel valiantly in vietnam. he received two purple hearts there. knows what war is all about but his critics pipt out that was against the surge in iraq. he called it the biggest foreign policy mistake. he warned it would be the biggest foreign policy mistake since vietnam. obviously the surge turned out differently. he will face tough questions about those positions if he will take the helm at the defense department. general jenna. jenna: all ahead, thank you, jennifer. jon: for more on the controversy surrounding the president's planned picks let's bring in bret stevens, foreign affairs columnist at "wall street journal." about chuck hagel first. it is a quote that sounds familiar to you and you wrote it. before his official nomination, mr. obama may appoint mr. hagel to take a place at the pentagon. as almost score setting matter i almost hope he does. it would confirm a point i made earlier this column earlier this year, that mr. obama is not a friend of israel. >> you could hardly think of another leading cont
